January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 28

LAW REVIEW
In the case of Watkins
v. Sullivan, Plaintiff Eric
Watkins brought a federal
civil rights Section 1983
claim against Defendant
Sandy Sullivan, a
park employee in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida.
'Anti-Gay' Singer Issued
Park Trespass Warning
By James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.
S
28 Parks & Recreation |
ection 1983 provides a federal civil rights cause of action and personal
liability upon a state actor who is responsible for using their
official capacity and the legal system to deprive a person of their
constitutional rights (42 U.S. Code, Section 1983). (See FindLaw:
tinyurl.com/2yvhsznj.)
In the case of Watkins v. Sullivan,
2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 28970 (11
Cir. 10/19/2022), Plaintiff Eric
Watkins, representing himself
" pro se, " brought a federal civil
rights Section 1983 claim against
Defendant Sandy Sullivan, a park
employee in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida.
The issue before the federal appeals
court was whether Defendant
Sullivan was entitled to " qualified
immunity " from being personally
liable in her individual capaciJ
ANUAR Y 2 0 2 3
ty as a government official for an
alleged Section 1983 violation of
Watkins's constitutional rights under
the First Amendment to engage
in free speech singing activity in a
public park.
Facts of the Case
Watkins is a homeless man who
lives out of his car. Between August
2011 and August 2015, Watkins
made daily visits to a public
park in Florida, using one of the
park's pavilions to prepare his
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
meals. As part of his daily routine,
Watkins would plug a cooking device
into the pavilion's electrical
outlet. In addition, Watkins used
his own personal pair of pliers to
turn on the pavilion's water shutoff
valve to fill buckets of water
for his personal use. Each time
he visited the park, Watkins also
would routinely sing a song, titled
" Boom Bye Bye, " by reggae artist
Buju Banton, an " anti-gay " song
with lyrics advocating violence
against gay people.
On the morning of August 11,
2015, Watkins
carried
out
his
usual routine, including preparing
his breakfast and lunch using
the pavilion's electricity and water.
After Watkins finished using

http://www.tinyurl.com/2yvhsznj

January 2023 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2023 - Parks & Recreation

January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 1
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 2
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 3
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 4
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 5
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 6
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 7
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 8
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 9
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 10
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 11
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 12
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 13
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 14
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 15
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 16
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 17
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 18
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 19
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 20
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 21
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 22
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 23
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 24
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 25
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 26
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 27
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 28
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 29
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 30
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 31
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 32
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 33
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 34
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 35
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 36
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 37
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 38
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 39
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 40
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 41
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 42
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 43
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 44
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 45
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 46
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 47
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 48
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 49
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 50
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 51
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 52
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 53
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 54
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 55
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 56
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
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https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
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https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
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